Congratulations, Iraq!

Akam Abdullah Sdiq

Once again, a new government has made the astonishing and unprecedented discovery that corruption exists.

Like a tiresome play that is repeated every four years, Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Kazemi al-Zaidi has stepped onto the political stage, feigning surprise while playing the role of an anti-corruption investigator. Every new government behaves as though it has just arrived from another planet, completely unaware of the devastation left behind by its predecessor, while former officials suddenly develop a convenient case of collective amnesia.

It is a remarkably familiar political comedy in which every leader promises that “this time will be different,” yet everyone knows they are simply reading from the very same script as those who came before them.

The dramatic arrests of figures such as Manaf Abdulmunim over 115 billion Iraqi dinars in unexplained wealth, and Adnan Jumaili, who was allegedly sitting atop a mountain of gold, dollars, and luxurious mansions, are broadcast across television screens as though they represent the climax of a Hollywood blockbuster.

But if we examine this situation through the critical analytical lens often employed by international media outlets such as the BBC and CNN, a far more important question emerges: How were these individuals able to build vast empires of stolen wealth right under the state’s nose without anyone noticing?

In reality, these so-called “discoveries” are not investigative breakthroughs at all. They merely signal that the political protection once shielding these individuals has expired and that they no longer enjoy the backing of their parties. The system does not prevent corruption; it simply waits until the political cover protecting the corrupt is removed, allowing the new government to present them as sacrifices to appease an angry public.

This endless cycle of selective outrage is one of the greatest insults to the intelligence of ordinary citizens. Those who claim to champion reform are themselves products of the very political machine that manufactures corruption.

The previous government left behind a collection of corruption investigations for this administration to exploit as political publicity. Likewise, it is almost certain that, a few years from now, Prime Minister Zaidi’s own cabinet will become the target of the next prime minister’s “astonishing discoveries.”

Until the state establishes institutions capable of preventing corruption before the crime is committed, these campaigns amount to nothing more than replacing one group of thieves—and those who manage them—with another.

Congratulations, Iraq. Once again, you have caught the small fish, while the sea itself remains thoroughly poisoned.